Lou Albano
Albano made little impact as a solo wrestler. Albano achieved moderate success as a tag team performer with partner Tony Altimore. Dubbed The Sicilians, Altimore and Albano competed as a stereotypical Italian gangster combo. The pair won the Midwest tag team championship on the undercard of the June 30, 1961 Comiskey Park event starring Pat O'Connor and Buddy Rogers that set the all-time record gate in the United States to that point. Their realistic depiction of gangster characters caught the attention of actual mafiosi in 1961. A credible threat on their lives occurred during a run as Midwest tag team champions, resulting in the pair abandoning the territory quickly enough that they did not lose the titles before leaving. In July 1967, they won the WWWF United States Tag Team Championship from Arnold Skaaland and Spiros Arion. Albano and Altomare only held the championship for two weeks, a title change which wasn't even acknowledged on WWWF television outside of the Atlantic City market. But several photographs of the pair with their title belts were taken, which provided good publicity fodder later in Albano's career. Following the encouragement of fellow wrestler Bruno Sammartino, Albano transitioned from wrestling to managing. He transformed himself into the brash, bombastic manager Captain Lou Albano. With a quick wit and a grating personality, Albano delivered memorable promos that made him wrestling's most villainous manager. He earned the scorn of the wrestling audience as he attempted to dethrone World Wide Wrestling Federation superstar and WWF champion Bruno Sammartino. Albano's first high-profile protege was Oscar "Crusher" Verdu, a reportedly poor worker with a powerhouse build. Albano emphasized Verdu's physique, and insisted that he had never been taken off his feet during a match. To rile up audiences, he also engaged in ethnic slurs, which were then a more common part of WWWF banter. The result was a Madison Square Garden sellout when Verdu faced Sammartino in June 1970, the first for the company in five years and a then-record gate for a wrestling event in that arena. The record lasted only a month, when a rematch brought in over $85,000 in ticket receipts. "They wanted to see me beat the hell out of Verdu to make Albano a liar," remembered Sammartino. "He could get the guys that kind of heat that nobody else could." In January 1971, Albano was the manager when "Russian Bear" Ivan Koloff ended Sammartino's seven year reign as champion. Koloff's title reign was a transitional one, lasting just three weeks. Albano then resumed his role as the mastermind trying to lead his latest bad guy wrestler to the gold. For the remainder of the 1970s, Albano's cadre of loyal henchmen were unable to resecure the heavyweight championship. However, Albano guided singles wrestlers Pat Patterson, Don Muraco and Greg 'The Hammer' Valentine to the Intercontinental Championship. Furthermore, Albano guided fifteen teams to the WWF World Tag Team Championships, including The Valiant Brothers, The Wild Samoans, The Blackjacks, The Moondogs and The Executioners. By the end of his career, Albano managed over 50 different wrestlers who won two dozen championships. Albano could also help elevate wrestlers by splitting from them. In 1982, despite being managed by the villainous Albano, "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka was becoming a fan favorite due to his high-flying ring style. An interview segment revealed that Snuka had no legal contract with Albano, and thus was able to leave his manager. Shortly thereafter, a bloody beatdown by Albano, Fred Blassie and Ray Stevens, helped transform Snuka into a sympathetic figure, and triggered the most successful period of his career. Albano had previously helped turn the villainous Pat Patterson into a fan favorite, by "purchasing" Patterson's contract against his will. The last championship team of wrestlers that Albano managed in the WWF were the New Headshrinkers in 1994. His career as a WWF manager ended in early 1995. During the 1990s, Albano shed 150 pounds (70 kg) following a health scare. In May 2005, Albano suffered a heart attack, but later recovered. By October 14, 2009, Albano was sent home from the hospital and began watching his health for the first time following health problems, but he died in his sleep at age 76. He was survived by his wife Geri, four children and 14 grandchildren.